I think Calling Poker players Notoriously bad at business is kinda unfair considering thats essentially what a poker professional does on a daily basis.

Well well, i have a gander on 2+2 and who's name do i see pop out at me Hello there fishcake! :P
(yeah, i don't think that's accurate either tbh. Each poker player has to have good money management, decision making, where is best to place your $$$$ etc. Plus the fact that staking players is pretty much a business-ish decision anyway).
Interesting episode anyway and as always, not quite sure what to make of Boston's comments really. I've always loved the guy and still do, and would like to believe him (and inside, scarily enough i actually do) about Howard not being malicious. Heck, i just hope players get paid and that amazing site gets back up and running, that's all.

Comes across as a parody. This guy is a major idiot.

Alan Boston F-bomb count......27




yes I was bored

uno 1

"Pathetic nonsense" is stronger than how I feel, but I'm not as high on him as most apparently are. I get tired of the random tangents, digressions, and pauses; I keep wanting to yell, "Get to the point."

Also, Boston is really critical of most poker players, but his reasons don't always make much sense to me. He comes off somewhat like the old guy who's angry that everyone is raising AK before seeing if it hits the flop.

While entertaining, the interview was worthless.

Did he talk with Howard about the things happening at FTP? - No, he said he talks about other stuff with him. Seen any good movies lately? huh?

Does he know anything about what Ray Bitar did? - No, pure speculation, finger pointing

Did he know anything about the FTP sale? - No, he barely even knew it was being sold.

Look, I can totally understand the guy is going to defend his friend and come up with rationalizations, so that everybody is out to get him and even going so far as making excuses for his friend, but hearsay from a friend (that doesn't even know the matter at hand) is worthless, imo.

His assessment on "Chris Ferguson doesn't seem like the guy who could do such a thing" reminds me of Barry Greenstein coming out and saying Russ Hamilton was innocent way back when it was just rumors on 2p2. I'm not saying Howard or Chris are guilty, just that you can't be swayed by the opinion of a good friend, who prefaces that he doesn't know the details of the story.

Also, even if he didn't know, Howard isn't a criminal, but comes out looking like a moron, because he let the theft happen in the company he built. To do what, charity work? Why not fix the stuff in your company like the horrible customer service everybody complained about? And what is his response when **** hits the fan? To hide!

So yes, Howard did steal my money by endorsing a site that handles your money badly and not taking responsibility for it. I do hope I see Boston at the tables someday, because I will say it, let's see if he punches a woman in the face.

alan boston is awesome and really smart. This based on previous interviews (haven't gotten to this one yet)

to say hes obnoxious or that most people feel hes uninteresting is probably far from true. At least with me.

You have to admit, most poker players would be far wealthier than they are if they treated the money they won outside the poker table the same as people treat the money they earn in their 9-5 job. That easy come, easy go attitude is what makes many pro players as good as they are.

This was not Mike and Adam's finest moment. The attitude seem to be to take whatever Alan Boston said as gospel truth, even when it made little sense. Possible questions:

1. You said Howard had no direct involvement with the company in the past three years, yet Bluff Magazine named him the most powerful person in poker this year. Why do you think they did that? Are they just idiots for not realizing Howard had no more involvement than Mike Matusow in the management of the company?

2. You just said FTP was making $1 million/month. Yet the red pros, let alone Howard were taking far more money out of the company than that. Was it really impossible for a smart person like you say Howard is to not realize this wasn't sustainable?

3. Is there a difference that to a person who has had significant money tied up on FTP whether Howard meant for this to happen or he allowed it to happen?

4. You mentioned that you didn't care where the money came from as long as you were paid by FTP. Which pros do you think it did matter to, if any?

I understand Alan Boston is a good interview, so it isn't in your long term best interest to push him in any way. However, letting him have a pass when they certainly would have never let someone like Joe Sebok get away with this doesn't put the hosts in a positive light.

This is my favourite show in recent memory. Why? Boston Al gave good testimony on Lederer, gave me a fresh perspective on the matter, and made me realize a lot of the reasons I'd join in blaming Howard have little to no basis in reality, or at least lack evidence.

I've moved from more of a lynch mob mentality on the issue to something approximating critical thought.

Anybody that has listened to an AB appearance on the show before knows that these type of back and forth questions are simply not possible wit him. AB is a wind him up and let him kind of guest. I can't imagine you didn't hear us attempting to ask about 30 questions that we simply couldn't spit out. With AB, you get what you get and it's up to the listener to interpret it as they see fit. The purpose of having him on was that he was one of few people that knows Howard well and has talked to him since Black Friday. He was brought on for his knowledge of Howard the person, not Howard's day-to-day business functions.

I would much rather have the interviewee drive the conversation than have the host direct it. It's the story I want to hear, and the host is there to facilitate it.

It's the difference between Art Bell and George Noory. I don't enjoy Coast-to-Coast AM anymore.

Coincidentally enough, this is the goal of almost every show!

I'm not sure what you expected, but it was obvious before the interview that Alan had no inside knowledge of the company.

The interesting part (to at least MJ and I) was that he is close friends with Howard and to get his take on the scandal in relation to his friendship with said friend.

Is it likely that Howard was totally oblivious to the big bad Ray Bitar stealing everyone's money? No. Is it possible? Certainly.

Alan came across really badly here. I found it offensive when he talked about how sorry he felt for Jen Harman, and poor Howard and how the government stole his hard earned cash (I think that was the expression, sorry if I misquote a little). He didnt seem to have any clue at all that there are a lot of people out there who tried to make a small stakes living playing poker who have gotten their lives pretty much destroyed by these people's neglect.

I have as of yet not heard the rest of the show after they go into basketball, but I hope that Mike and Adam point out some of these things after the interview. As to the lack of questioning that some people seem to dislike here, it's pretty easy to hear that Mike keeps trying and Alan keeps interrupting (which by the way also is very annoying).

Doesnt reflect badly on the show though, just on the guest :P

Critical thought? Dude-mang...this is the internet. Get that sh*t outta here.

Boston Al is the best.

lol Alan Boston, what an interview....

for AB to suggest that Howard is a blameless victim even if the story went down the way AB speculates it did is foolish.

Ray Bitar has/had no business being CEO of a multi-million dollar business. For these guys to leave their unqualified buddy running the ship with no controls is completely negligent. I will never understand why they never went out and hired a qualified businessman to handle day to day operations once the company became something with such serious potential.

Right, I mean best case scenario for HL is he let Charlie Brown run his billion dollar company. Grossly negligent at a minimum.

Again, the interesting question is "Did Howard know that they were operating/paying themselves with player funds?"

It's been assumed by everyone (including myself) that he would have had to, but the point is we can't be sure.

I mean, I'm having a hard time concocting a scenario where he didn't know but that doesn't mean it's not possible.

I listened in the car, but if I had of been home I had thought about quizzing my wife as to whether she thought it was the pokercast, or a caller during the HSS show.

Well, I was entertained! So thank you

I think this wasn't Alan Bostons best appearance on the show. I get that the "friend perspecitve" is one that hasn't been heard, but he seemed more out there than usual, making up stuff (1 million a month) and repeating his own words all the time. Honestly seemed like he was high or soemthing.

He didn't seem as entertaining as usual, but that may be because the topic was one that didn't fit his style (lol degen stories vs. they stole our money). The most entertaining part was "I lie all the time". So I guess we should take all of it with a grain of salt.

When I called him, he was distraught because of a recent tragedy involving one of his closest friends.

After he told me what happened, I didn't think he would be able to do the show but he didn't want to let us down and did it anyway.

One of the BEST 'animals being dicks', can I say that?

Just finished a great show. Boston was again superb, and I accept his defense, although I do think one has to decide if Howard Lederer is a smart guy or not, if so, then he hired a guy, and he must accept a great deal of the blame, regardless of his intent. He can't be viewed purely as a passive shareholder.

The other side is that Howard is just a ****** and was clueless as to what was going on.

Also, MJ suggested that the IRS doesnt keep up with the DOJ's stuff, and I think that is not at all the case. My guess is that the minute ANYONE puts in a claim for $10,000+, the IRS will collect 35% (or something like that) off the top. (That's the way they do it at a game show, you don't just leave with the car, or the washer/dryer, not in the US anyway, without paying for it). Also, what would stop the IRS from taking the screenname from the claim, and going back (they can go back 7 years I think?), and auditing ALL those tax returns? If someone earned 100K a year for a few years and its not on their return....could be lots of taxes, penalties, and interest. (btw Im not a tax attorney)

The silence was really the worst part of the mess - it suggested blame pure and simple. Boston comes from the real world of gambling: you get stuck, you admit it, you organize a payment plan, you make things right, and then you move on. Everyone would be good with that. You don't just go silent and make them come after you for the money.

Alan Boston's star has tumbled .

One of the most requested guests on the Pokercast came across horribly on this weeks show, not just for his controversial stand on defending Howard Lederer but for rambling on incessantly ,continually repeating himself and talking over and ignoring the hosts questions, not to mention dropping F bombs every other sentence which made him appear not colorful but backward.

Boston, whose unique perspective on the the world of gambling , is usually revealing and insightful failed to offer any real defence of Lederer other than to say what a great guy he is and how Howard didn't even hire a lawyer when the **** hit the fan because he knew he had done nothing wrong. But to explain Howards silence for the past seven months Boston blamed that on the phantom lawyer, that was never hired, advising him to do so.

Boston also tried to claim that Lederer has made so much money from poker he has no reason to do anything dishonest . In fact Howard just wanted to make money so he can give charitably to those less fortunate than himself. The only thing that Lederer is guilty of ,says Boston , is being naiive and letting that scumbag Ray Bitar run Full Tilt into the ground. When Howard "retired" there was plenty of money in the FTP coffers but next time he looked the money was gone, either because of Bitar or the clueless vindictive US government.

Howard's not a thief said Boston and if anyone says he is I'll punch them in the face.